Back to Nature with Organic Treats

Let us be honest when we consider that we wish our dearest four legged friends to be offered the very best of everything that we have.  We indulge them in every way to afford them a comfortable, healthy, and safe life with us.

Offering them the option of organic treats, whether we go to the natural food store and buy the ingredients that we need to bake the delicious goodies from scratch or we purchase the premium dog snacks from a store that  has a great assortment of natural treats, we need to keep in mind that not only are we doing something good for them, we are also being considerate of our Mother Earth and her inhabitants.

Any ingredient that shows us the certified organic label, is one of exceptional quality.  The standards are set by the United States Department of Agriculture and are so strict that they monitor the earth in which the products are being grown.  Nothing passes the inspection unless it has been rigorously tested.  And if you are purchasing an already made dog treat, in order for it to be considered organic, it must contain at least 95% organic ingredients.

Think about not having to worry whether your dog is ingesting artificial flavors, colors, preservatives or pesticides!  Sometimes it may even appear that our dogs are getting better stuff to eat than we as their humans are.  It is definitely worth the extra few pennies to be assured that you are getting the ingredients that are safe, healthy, and all natural.  What a great way to live.

Bone appetit!

Healthy and Good-For-Your-Dog Feast Foods

Thanksgiving arrives just a few short days from today and certainly any red-blooded canine companion  can already taste the potential drippings, oops, I mean droppings of crumbs and handouts at the holiday table.  Most certainly your pooch friend already knows which of the family and relatives are the soft touch who slips "just a little bit" to the side of the chair and onto the nice rug so that your doggie won’t feel slighted.

Not an excellent idea considering that as we approach the festivities of the season, the foods tend to be laden with extra calories,salt, fats and sugars, and even potentially fatal ingredients like raisins or onions.  There are, however, ways to share the holiday feast-ive foods with your furry friend and not allow any additional weight gain or sickness.

I will caution you to be vigilent about the number of times you "slip" these tasty morsels, as they will eventually cause your otherwise fit friend to lose that athletic shape!

Consider offering some of the same delicious and nutritious, whole foods that we have at the table, without all of the additions.  Don’t hesitate, though, to add some spices like nutmeg, ginger, garlic, sage and rosemary, lavender, and even cinnamon since these herbs and spices have healing properties and dogs love them.

What about cooking some canned pumpkin custard? You can add everything except the sugar and you might want to consider using a dash of local honey since that holds some minute traces of pollen that are beneficial. Or, think about adding a scoop of canned pumpkin (NOT pie filling) as a topper to the daily food mixture.

Think about some yams, carrots, red bell peppers, broccoli, butternut squash that has been boiled.  The carrots and bells can be offered raw.  Some dogs will love them, others don’t show a preference.

How about a turkey loaf?  And add potatoes, oats, spices, and a few veggies.

Quite honestly, the possibilities for spoiling your furry friend at the holidays are only as limited as your imagination.  Do watch out for added sugars and please don’t let them get near CHOCOLATE…carob is fine though.

Bone appetit and let your dog be a part of your feast-ivities safely.

It’s Not SPELT Wrong!

After reading about this stuff and even having an opportunity to taste it, (Yes, I ate a gourmet dog treat that had this stuff as a main ingredient…and I LOVED it!), I decided to do a bit of investigation and find out what exactly spelt is and something about it.

Spelt is actually a grain in the wheat family that has been cultivated for thousands of years.  It long ago earned some disfavor among agriculturists because of its rather hard outer covering.  But, as the health food movement grew and people grew more concerned about their canine pals with allergies to common wheat, spelt made an amazing comeback.  One of the organic and gourmet premium dog treat companies Wagatha’s (Breakfast Biscuits,Cranberry Cheddar, Tomato Herb) has done amazing work in integrating the spelt into its new line of snacks and they would be wonderful with a cup of coffee!

It has greater nutritional value and more of a nutty flavor than its cousin wheat.  However, because of its lower gluten content, if you are substituting this type of flour in a dog treat recipe, you will need to be careful to adjust baking times.

Spelt is a great grain to offer an allergy prone dog and it also provides more vitamins and protein.  Happy eating!